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Syria Forms Committee to Seek Interpol Handover of Assad-Era Figures

Syrians celebrate outside the Omari Mosque in Daraa, where the Syrian uprising began in 2011, after a Syrian court sentenced Atef Najib, the official responsible for the crackdown in the city, to death (dpa)
Syrians celebrate outside the Omari Mosque in Daraa, where the Syrian uprising began in 2011, after a Syrian court sentenced Atef Najib, the official responsible for the crackdown in the city, to death (dpa)
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Syria Forms Committee to Seek Interpol Handover of Assad-Era Figures

Syrians celebrate outside the Omari Mosque in Daraa, where the Syrian uprising began in 2011, after a Syrian court sentenced Atef Najib, the official responsible for the crackdown in the city, to death (dpa)
Syrians celebrate outside the Omari Mosque in Daraa, where the Syrian uprising began in 2011, after a Syrian court sentenced Atef Najib, the official responsible for the crackdown in the city, to death (dpa)

Syria has formed a committee to seek the extradition of criminals sentenced to death in absentia, Deputy Justice Minister Mustafa al-Qassem said on Wednesday, as the government defended the rulings against criticism from Amnesty International.

Al-Qassem said the committee would coordinate with Interpol to secure the handover of those convicted to Syria.

A Syrian court on Tuesday sentenced ousted President Bashar al-Assad and several senior figures from his rule to death, including former security official Atef Najib, in the first rulings of their kind since the former government was overthrown in late 2024.

Cheers and chants erupted inside the courtroom, through the corridors of the Palace of Justice and outside the building as the verdicts were announced.

“We have established offices to receive complaints related to transitional justice crimes, and we are seeking to recover Syrians’ stolen funds and pursue those who invested them abroad,” al-Qassem told Syria’s Al-Ikhbariya television.

He said international cooperation, particularly in the handover of fugitives, would help accelerate Syria’s transitional justice process.

Al-Qassem said the Justice Ministry was also seeking the closest possible alignment between Syrian judicial procedures and international trial standards, while stressing Syria’s national sovereignty in matters of transitional justice.

The Justice Ministry, meanwhile, pushed back against Amnesty International’s criticism of Tuesday’s rulings, saying the group’s statement “does not accurately reflect the nature of the judicial procedures followed in these cases or the safeguards guaranteed to litigants under Syrian law.”

Amnesty said the government, if it wanted to “truly turn the page on the horrors of the past,” should end trials in absentia and the death penalty, criminalize core crimes under international law in domestic legislation and undertake comprehensive judicial reform.

It said prosecutions should take place before ordinary civilian courts, with victims participating and without resorting to capital punishment, as part of a nationwide, victim-centered strategy aimed at establishing truth, delivering justice and providing reparations.

The ministry said the cases were heard before a competent civilian criminal court by qualified judges, with victims and their representatives taking part in accordance with legal procedures.

It said constitutional and legal safeguards were observed, along with relevant principles of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

The trials, it added, were based on facts, evidence and judicial case files, with defendants guaranteed rights of defense, appeal and objection under applicable procedures.

The ministry said Syria’s current circumstances, after years of crimes and violations, placed a legal and moral duty on the state to deliver justice and hold those responsible to account.

That responsibility, it said, did not justify bypassing constitutional or legal safeguards or diminishing the rights of any party to a case.

Justice was being pursued through state institutions and within their jurisdiction, the ministry said, “in a manner that preserves victims’ right to redress and defendants’ right to a trial under the law, away from revenge or politicization.”

On capital punishment, the ministry said the death penalty remained part of Syrian law and could only be imposed by a court ruling based on law, evidence and facts.

Any execution, it said, would be subject to prescribed legal safeguards and could take place only after all stages and procedures required by law and the competent authorities had been completed.

The ministry also defended trials in absentia, saying that when permitted by law and conducted under the required conditions, they did not, in themselves, undermine fair-trial guarantees or the legality of the proceedings.

It reiterated its willingness to engage with international rights groups and consider observations that could help improve Syria’s justice system.

But it said evaluating judicial procedures, ruling on cases and determining responsibility and punishment remained the jurisdiction of the Syrian judiciary, operating under the constitution and the law while safeguarding the rights of all parties and victims’ right to justice.

Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais told Al-Ikhbariya on Tuesday that the ruling against Atef Najib had been issued in the name of the entire Syrian people.

He said the verdict showed that no one was above the law, regardless of status or position, and that rights would ultimately be restored to those entitled to them, however long it took.

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Arab World

Leadership Crisis in Hezbollah After Nasrallah's Assassination

A woman carries a picture of the late Hezbollah leader Nasrallah as supporters of Hezbollah protest outside the Lebanese Government Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 18 August 2026, rallying against direct Lebanese-Israeli talks. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
A woman carries a picture of the late Hezbollah leader Nasrallah as supporters of Hezbollah protest outside the Lebanese Government Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 18 August 2026, rallying against direct Lebanese-Israeli talks. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Leadership Crisis in Hezbollah After Nasrallah's Assassination

A woman carries a picture of the late Hezbollah leader Nasrallah as supporters of Hezbollah protest outside the Lebanese Government Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 18 August 2026, rallying against direct Lebanese-Israeli talks. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
A woman carries a picture of the late Hezbollah leader Nasrallah as supporters of Hezbollah protest outside the Lebanese Government Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, 18 August 2026, rallying against direct Lebanese-Israeli talks. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Two years after the assassination of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, the group has not fully overcome the absence of the man who led it for more than three decades and transformed the secretary-general's office into a center of political, organizational, military, and popular influence that is difficult to replace.

Hezbollah will mark the second anniversary of the assassinations of Nasrallah and his successor, Hashem Safieddine, on Sunday with a public rally at Nasrallah's shrine in Beirut's southern suburbs. Its new Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, will speak at the event. Security measures will include closing roads leading to the shrine from the direction of the old airport road and Ziad Rahbani Highway and diverting traffic to other routes.

According to people close to the group and its opponents, current Secretary-General Naim Qassem does not appear to have succeeded in filling the vacuum left by his predecessor. At the same time, there has been an increasing shift in the center of decision-making within the group, with the room for internal initiative narrowing in favor of decisions coming directly from Iran.

The group's opponents say the issue is not simply a matter of the difference in charisma and popular presence between the two men, but also the nature of the role Nasrallah played within Hezbollah. He combined political, organizational, and military leadership, and served as the principal link with the group's supporters and its Iranian ally. Hezbollah today, by contrast, appears to have a more collective and structured leadership, but with a more direct Iranian role in shaping its choices and decisions.

While people close to Hezbollah believe that, despite the blows it has suffered, the group has managed to reorganize its ranks and maintain its cohesion under Naim Qassem, its opponents argue that the period following Nasrallah has exposed a leadership crisis and a decline in its ability to mobilize supporters, as well as internal divisions resulting from Qassem's performance.

A New Approach to Confronting the Challenges

Political writer Dr. Qassem Qassir, who is closely familiar with Hezbollah's position, acknowledges that after Nasrallah, the group "faced many internal and external obstacles" following a long period of centralized leadership during which Nasrallah held the reins of the organization for about 33 years, from 1992 until 2024, before his assassination under extremely difficult circumstances.

He notes that despite losing both of its secretaries-general, Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, along with a number of its cadres and leaders, Hezbollah succeeded in reorganizing its ranks and putting its security and organizational affairs in order under Sheikh Naim Qassem.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Qassir says Hezbollah now faces new challenges, which has prompted it to adopt a different approach at both the domestic and external levels. He adds that while Hezbollah was previously a major regional player, it is now focusing to a much greater degree on its internal situation, southern Lebanon, and confronting Israel.

He continues that while Hezbollah is no longer the strongest political player on the domestic scene as it once was, it remains a major political force, and domestic and external actors continue to treat it as a key party in the Lebanese equation.

Asked about the charisma Nasrallah possessed, which many believe Qassem lacks, Qassir says there is no doubt that Nasrallah's charisma was distinctive. However, he describes Sheikh Naim as a highly important organizational and administrative figure who succeeded in reorganizing the group's ranks and preserving its cohesion during an extremely difficult period, given that Hezbollah is entering a new phase that requires a new approach at the political, military, and militant levels.

A Missing Leadership

Jad Al-Akhawi, head of the Lebanese Democrats Coalition and a Shiite opponent of Hezbollah, takes a different view. He says it is difficult to argue that Naim Qassem has so far succeeded in filling the vacuum left by Hassan Nasrallah.

The issue, he says, is not solely about charisma, but about the nature of the leadership Nasrallah built over more than three decades and his ability to combine organizational, political, and military leadership while maintaining direct communication with the group's supporters. Qassem, by contrast, came from a more organizational and ideological background than a popular one and spent decades serving as deputy secretary-general rather than as the group's primary center of gravity.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Akhawi says what stands out about Qassem's appearances is their format. He appears on screen, but without the direct interaction with supporters that was an essential part of Nasrallah's public image. Some of Qassem's appearances, he adds, appear to be so tightly controlled and produced that they can at times give the visual impression of an image or persona generated by artificial intelligence rather than that of a political leader interacting directly with his supporters.

He adds that Nasrallah was not merely a secretary-general, but for Hezbollah's supporters he was part of the mechanism for mobilization, persuasion, and decision-making. Naim Qassem, by contrast, has not yet demonstrated that he can inherit all of these functions collectively.

The question, therefore, is no longer simply whether Qassem can fill the vacuum left by Nasrallah, but whether Hezbollah itself can produce a comparable leadership after the collapse of a significant part of its former leadership structure.

The Decision-Making in Iran

Political activist and Lebanese University psychology professor Dr. Mona Fayad, for her part, focuses on Hezbollah's ability to mobilize people. She considers that ability to have declined significantly under Qassem's leadership, pointing to internal divisions within the group between those who support Qassem and those who oppose him, which she says have affected the way decisions are made and the current phase is managed.

Fayad believes Qassem's current performance "serves Israel," making it not in Israel's interest to target him. She also believes that decisions within Hezbollah now come directly from Iran, with the scope for Lebanese decision-making reduced to a minimum.

In this context, Fayad speaks of an Iranian "determination" to keep the Iranian ambassador in Beirut, saying his role goes beyond diplomatic work to include security responsibilities. She describes him as an "intelligence operative" whom Tehran seeks to keep in place to complete his missions.

Arab World

Iraq Seeks Exemption from US Ban on Iran Airlines

People walk near a giant billboard depicting portrayals of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei through various periods in his life, in Baghdad's central Tahrir Square on September 22, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
People walk near a giant billboard depicting portrayals of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei through various periods in his life, in Baghdad's central Tahrir Square on September 22, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
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Iraq Seeks Exemption from US Ban on Iran Airlines

People walk near a giant billboard depicting portrayals of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei through various periods in his life, in Baghdad's central Tahrir Square on September 22, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
People walk near a giant billboard depicting portrayals of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei through various periods in his life, in Baghdad's central Tahrir Square on September 22, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

The Iraqi government said Saturday it was holding talks with the United States to secure exemptions from sanctions on Iranian airlines, which has disrupted travel for patients, students and pilgrims.

All Iraqi airports enforced the ban this week, resulting in major disruption at the airport of the holy city of Najaf, the main destination for Iranian flights to Iraq.

"The Iraqi government is holding direct talks with the American side to exempt certain Iraqi airports from these measures," the prime minister's media office said.

An exemption would allow flights to resume "for humanitarian reasons, including medical treatment, education, religious visits, and for the interest of civilians," it added.

Iranian airlines mainly carry Iraqi Shiite pilgrims to Iran's holy cities or Iranians visiting sacred sites in Iraq. The flights also serve Iraqi students studying in Iran and patients seeking medical treatment there.

Iraq has joined several countries in enforcing the US ban, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iranian airlines would be "shut down" on Wednesday.

Arab World

Golan Spat Exposes One Reason Israel-Syria Talks Stalled

A lake near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, with Mount Hermon in the background (AFP)
A lake near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, with Mount Hermon in the background (AFP)
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Golan Spat Exposes One Reason Israel-Syria Talks Stalled

A lake near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, with Mount Hermon in the background (AFP)
A lake near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, with Mount Hermon in the background (AFP)

The exchange over the Golan Heights between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the UN General Assembly exposed part of what has stalled talks between Israel and Syria.

The negotiations began two years ago but stopped after an Israeli attack on Abu al-Duhur airport in Idlib province a few weeks ago.

To Netanyahu’s critics, his hard-line stance at the United Nations revealed how wary Israel’s current leadership is of peace with Damascus.

Al-Sharaa told the General Assembly in New York that Syria wants peace, but at a price: the return of the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Knowing Israel is not ready to pay that price today, he pressed instead for security agreements that would pull Israeli forces out of areas they occupied after Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024 and restore the framework of the 1974 disengagement agreement.

Israel knows Syria’s position from the talks held so far. Al-Sharaa’s government has signaled its willingness to keep negotiating, rebuild trust and eventually reach a full peace agreement, with embassies, good-neighborly relations, trade and cooperation across various fields, according to accounts circulating in Tel Aviv.

Israel’s leadership, unwilling to pay a price for peace, responded sharply. Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the Golan under Israeli sovereignty is an inseparable part of the State of Israel forever.”

Israel, he added, will not withdraw from Mount Hermon or the security zone. He also warned: “Any territory we take this time will remain ours forever, in accordance with the laws of war.”

Netanyahu followed from the UN podium with what appeared to be a history lesson for al-Sharaa, according to his own reading of that history.

“Mr. al-Sharaa, you should know the Jews have been on the Golan Heights since the days of Moses,” he said. “You can read it in the Bible.”

But the region’s history does not establish the claim Netanyahu sought to make. His remarks gave a religious and historical cast to Katz’s statements about occupation. Archaeological sites show that people inhabited the Golan long before the time of Moses and the Israelites.

Evidence of settlement dates to the Copper and Bronze Ages, alongside stone structures, burial sites and other remains left by communities that lived there thousands of years ago.

Critics of Netanyahu’s account say that even if Jews lived in the Golan, they did not live there alone; others may have outnumbered them.

Those critics also accuse Israeli governments of hiding a central fact about the Golan’s occupation: Israel displaced as much as 90% of the Syrian plateau’s population in 1967.

They say 140,000 people lived there at the time, compared with just 8,000 today. Israel still prevents disclosure of the reasons for their displacement, while people from the Golan recount crimes and massacres that drove them out, the critics say.

Under Assad, the Syrian government agreed to lease the Golan to Israel for 15 years, with an option to extend the lease.

Netanyahu now rejects even proposals he once accepted. He wants to use what he sees as a new balance of power and what Katz calls the laws governing the outcome of war. Yet al-Sharaa’s Syria did not start a war with Israel.

The Israeli military, instead, took advantage of Assad’s fall to launch thousands of strikes on Syria, destroy 85% of the Syrian military’s defensive capabilities and occupy new areas in the south.

Israelis confirm al-Sharaa’s assertion that the two sides had agreed on 90% of the issues in a proposed security arrangement.

They explain Israel’s retreat from the talks by claiming that Syria is becoming a sphere of Turkish influence and that Syrian territory could be used to attack Israeli settlements in the Golan, as Hamas attacked communities around Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

Syrians offered far-reaching security guarantees in the negotiations: demilitarization in southern Syria and a secure trade corridor that would allow Druze communities in Israel and the Golan to send aid to Sweida province.

They also agreed to joint security coordination under US supervision, including intelligence sharing and Jordanian participation in monitoring the entire border area.

Israel wanted more: to keep Mount Hermon’s peaks and parts of a security belt, and to retain the freedom to enter Syria in pursuit of armed cells.

The prevailing sense is that Israel has little interest in successful talks and entered them only because US President Donald Trump wanted it to. Trump alone is seen as stopping Netanyahu from using the situation in Syria to launch further military attacks.

The US president appears to be waiting for the Israeli election results before deciding where he stands on the government’s policies.

Trump issued a presidential proclamation in March 2019 recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

UN resolutions, however, affirm that the Golan is occupied territory and reject Israel’s declaration that it has imposed its laws and administration on the Syrian plateau.